2009 TEAM PREVIEW The Golden Bears have all the ingredients to return to the NCAA Tournament national semifinals for the first time since 2007: five starters plus the libero and nine letterwinners return from a team that won 26 matches and ranked third in both kills per set (14.88) and assists per set (13.83) in the NCAA a year ago. Among the returnees are first-team All-American and All-Pac-10 senior outside hitter Hana Cutura and second-team All-American and All-Pac-10 junior setter Carli Lloyd, as well as Pac-10 All-Freshman team honoree sophomore outside hitter Tarah Murrey. Mix in a solid recruiting class that includes three freshmen named to Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50, including setter Elly Barrett, a 2009 UnderArmour High School first team All-American, middle hitter Tia Gaffen, a 2009 PrepVolleyball.com Top Senior Ace, and middle hitter Correy Johnson, a 2009 UnderArmour High School first-team All-American, and head coach Rich Feller has everything needed to compete for a Pac-10 title and make a deep run in the postseason.

KEY MATCHUPS• Aug. 28 - UC Irvine vs. California, 4:30 p.m. PT • Sept. 3-6 - Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic • Sept. 25 - Stanford at California, 7 p.m. PT (FSN) After opening the season hosting UC Irvine on Aug. 28, the Golden Bears will be tested early in their second tournament of the season. Cal plays three teams ranked in the 2009 Volleyball Magazine Preseason Poll when it travels to the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic: No. 2 Texas, No. 7 Hawaii and No. 17 Saint Louis, three teams that were national contenders last year, with the Longhorns and Hawaii falling to fellow Pac-10 squad, Stanford. The Bears open the Pac-10 slate hosting the Cardinal, who were the 2008 national runner-up.

Cutura was a first team AVCA All-American last season, as well as an All-Pac-10 pick and Volleyball Magazine’s All-Pacific Region selection after leading the Pac-10 in points per set with 4.98. She also ranked second in the league in kills per set with 4.34. Her 499 total kills in 2008 ranked fifth-most all-time in a single season by a Golden Bear. In addition, Cutura ranks fifth on the school's career kills list at 1,376, needing 349 kills to move into third all-time. She has played in at least 100 games in each of the past three seasons and will look to be be one of the Conference’s top hitters this season.